Planet of the Apes
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: Those damn dirty apes were pretty good at blowing stuff up.


**Planet of the Apes**

The artifact that had been designated as TMA-02 by humanity wasn't too perturbed when humanity itself ceased to be.

Alright, maybe not "ceased to be" – the Firstborn had witnessed the rise and fall of so many of the universe's children, the fact that humanity continued to exist millions of years after climbing down from the trees was testament to their adaptability, if not intelligence. For the next few thousand years, the human race would exist. But it would never reach the stars, or cross the emptiness that the Firstborn had wept at, so alone were they in the dark. They were born on the world they called Earth, and would die there. And it, TMA-02, would reside on the moon they called Europa. Bathed in the light of a second son, it would watch over the life of this moon. Guide them on the path to sapience. And hope (or as close as a being such as itself could hope), that they would not make the same mistakes as Sol's first children had.

For humanity's fall was of its own making – it had received analysis from its counterpart, the device the humans had called TMA-01, as retrieved from their world's moon. Once they had reached for the stars, now their gazes were forever downward. They had grown lazy and fat, employing their biological cousins to look after them. Apes, chimpanzees, and even orangutans. All cousins of humanity on the tree of life. All still children of the trees themselves, while Australopithecus emerged into the sun, walking upright. Now, it was Homo sapiens that were in the dark, while their cousins looked to the stars. As they dwelt on what was now a planet of the apes.

This meant nothing to TMA-02. It would be long before the tree creatures would escape their world's orbit. Even longer before they could reach Europa. The evolution of intelligent life on the third world orbiting Sol had taken an unexpected turn, but what was life if not the story of the unexpected? What was evolution but an adaptation to the unexpected? What was the creation of the universe itself, if not unexpected?

It didn't know. Nor was it in its programming to care. Its duty was to Europa. It would continue its silent vigil, from now until…until…

Deep within its core, beyond the sight or comprehension of Jupiter's children, the monolith called TMA-02 paused. Processed. And as fast as the speed of light would allow, fell silent. There was no mistaking it. Its kindred, the device the humans had called TMA-01 had fallen silent.

 _Investigate._

And so it did. It cast its senses out through the dark. 43 minutes and 7 seconds later, it established a link-up with the Earth monolith. The one that, in their twilight years, humanity had dubbed TMA-0, correctly deducting the role it had played in their evolution. TMA-0 lay undisturbed – it possessed no magnetic field, and it would be long before the apes would find it. But TMA-01 had been placed on the moon. Had been brought to the city called New York by humanity. TMA-01 had fallen silent. So TMA-02 asked, "where is our brother?" Quaint words, and unproductive thought, but what else was it to do as Europans crawled out of the primordial ooze? What else to do as it waited for apes to reach the stars.

44 minutes and 9 seconds later, it got its answer. TMA-0 had entered a still functioning human satellite and displayed images of their ruined city. One of hundreds of ruined cities that lay around the Earth, destroyed by men, ape, or simply time. TMA-02 followed the data. Saw what could be seen. Saw that the apes had destroyed far more than the giant statue their now-slaves had built. They had destroyed everything. And destroyed, through means unknown, TMA-01 itself.

For a full second, it processed this knowledge. Its brother was gone. Actually gone. Even as the humans let themselves be destroyed, even as the humans nearly destroyed themselves in the year 2010 of their calendar, they had never destroyed a monolith. But these… _tree creatures_ …had done so. Done the impossible. Done the unthinkable.

So TMA-02 let out a burst of light towards its makers. A message. A demand. A band of light arguing for fire to be brought to Earth. A message tinged with sadness, anger, and all manner of unwanted emotion. And words directed at the apes. Words that would echo through space and time. Words that would never be forgotten, and would always be heard as thus…

"You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you! Damn you all to Hell!"


End file.
